Princess Amalia, the 18-year-old heir to the Dutch throne, cannot leave her parent’s home in The Hague amid security concerns, the king and queen have confirmed.

Willem-Alexander and Máxima, speaking to the press during a state visit to Sweden on Thursday, were subdued as they were asked what it’s like to not have the princess living at home any longer. She is studying at the University of Amsterdam, where she planned to live in student housing in the nation’s capital.

‘She hasn’t left the house,’ queen Máxima responded. ‘That has enormous consequences for her life. That means that she doesn’t live in Amsterdam and can’t really go outside. It’s not a student life for her like other students have. I’m really proud of her how she keeps up with all that. I honestly say.’

The king added that the situation is ‘very difficult’ and said he ‘cannot describe’ what threats against his daughter mean to him as a father.

In September, the Royal House released photos of Amalia attending her first day of university, where she is studying politics, psychology, law and economics.

Attack or kidnapping

Last month, De Telegraaf reported that the princess’ security detail had been significantly tightened. She—along with prime minister Mark Rutte—allegedly appeared in organized crime communications, signalling there could be plans for an attack or kidnapping.

At the time, the newspaper already reported that Amalia was not living in her student house in Amsterdam pending further investigation.

The prime minister said that Amalia not being able to leave the house is ‘terrible news’ and ‘very intense’ for the princess. Although, he said, he can’t comment on the nature of the threat or her security, he said ‘everyone who is working on it is doing their utmost to make sure Amalia is safe.’ His own security has also recently been tightened.

‘Terrible’

The news has been roundly described as ‘terrible’ by politicians and officials across the board, with Amsterdam council chief Marjolein Moorman saying: ‘A young woman of 18 is thus deprived of her freedom and social life in the prime of her life.’

‘We may have here a combination of concrete threat signals and the idea of: we should not be naive, we should really be able to imagine that a criminal association could carry out such an action,’ terrorism expert Jelle van Buuren told TV show Nieuwsuur on Thursday night. ‘Six months ago, the conclusion was that such a thing does not happen in the Netherlands.’

He added that it was striking the royal house released information about the threats, which in general are never discussed. The police and the public prosecution service are also not commenting on the matter.